| Flesh Gordon | |
|---|---|
British theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Michael Benveniste Howard Ziehm |
| Produced by | Walter R. Cichy Bill Osco Howard Ziehm |
| Written by | Michael Benveniste |
| Narrated by | Robert V. Greene |
| Starring | Jason Williams Suzanne Fields Joseph Hudgins William Dennis Hunt Candy Samples Mycle Brandy John Hoyt |
| Music by | Ralph Ferraro |
| Cinematography | Howard Ziehm |
| Editing by | Abbas Amin |
| Studio | Graffiti Productions |
| Distributed by | Mammoth Films |
| Release date(s) | July 30, 1974 |
| Running time | 78 minutes 72 minutes (Edited cut) 90 minutes (Collector's edition) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $700,000 |
| Box office | $906,000 |
Flesh Gordon is a 1974 American science fiction adventure comedy film. It is an erotic spoof of the Flash Gordon serial films from the 1930s.[1] The screenplay was written by Michael Benveniste, who also co-directed the film with Howard Ziehm. The cast includes Jason Williams, Suzanne Fields, and William Dennis Hunt.
The film had an MPAA rating of X, but was also re-edited for a reduced rating of R. It has a runtime of 78 minutes, and the collector's edition released later runs for 90 minutes. The picture was filmed in color, the sound is mono, and the dialogue is in English.
Contents |
The storyline is reminiscent of the original Flash Gordon films, but with a generally campy sexual flavor to it. The character names are weak sexual innuendos, based on character names of the original serial, including the hero Flesh Gordon (Jason Williams); his love interest Dale Ardor [Dale Arden] (Fields); the evil Emperor Wang the Perverted [Ming the Merciless] (William Dennis Hunt); Dr. Flexi Jerkoff [Dr. Alexis Zarkov] (Joseph Hudgins); Amora, Queen of Magic [Princess Aura] (Brandy); and a gay Robin Hood-like character called Prince Precious [Prince Barin] (Lance Larsen).
The plot has the Emperor Wang aiming a "Sex Ray" at the Earth from his home world of Porno [Mongo]. The entire planet becomes hopelessly sexually obsessed, and it is up to Gordon to stop the rays. The film uses nudity whenever possible, and the scenes are shot in a style nearly identical to the original Flash Gordon serials. As an example of the dialogue, the rocket ship has just landed on the planet Porno. A long necked, sauropod dinosaur with a glans-like head is seen out the window in the landscape. Flesh asks Dr. "J", "What's that"? "Must be some kind of penisaurus", Dr. "J" replies matter-of-factly.
A towering, demonic-looking creature, the Great God Porno (voiced by an uncredited Craig T. Nelson), brought out of hibernation by Emperor Wang steals the show with his brief appearance, muttering all manner of obscenities in a very un-monster-like velvety voice. Example: Flipping the bird at the title character and grumbling, "Up yours, Gordon!" The monster's fate is a major plot point.
The film employed special effects artists who would later gain fame, including Mike Minor, Greg Jein, and Rick Baker. Established effects artists Jim Danforth (credited as Mij Htrofnad) and Dave Allen also took part.
The film's low-budget effects were achieved through using old-fashioned techniques. The model of Wang's palace was created using everyday objects such as drinking glasses, and was designed to resemble Griffith Observatory so that footage shot at the base of the observatory could be used.
The only authentic props in the film are the wicker seats used in the airliner interior set. They are seen while the passengers are boarding and again when Wang's "Sex Ray" strikes the plane. These were real Ford Tri-Motor Western Airlines' passenger seats, found in storage at Burbank's airport and rented for the production.
Star Trek fan and writer Bjo Trimble was a makeup artist on Flesh Gordon, and described it in On the Good Ship Enterprise: My 15 Years with Star Trek.
Longtime fan and science fiction and fantasy writer Tom Reamy served in the film's Art Department as the production's Property Master. He tracked down the authentic Ford Tri-Motor passenger seats mentioned above, among other props he acquired and then adapted for use in the film.
Some Los Angeles area science fiction fans worked behind the camera in various capacities, while others served as background extras in the production, most notably in the orgy scenes in Emperor Wang's palace.
The film's climactic monster was not intended to speak, but it proved so expressive that dialogue was dubbed in to match its mouth movements. Addressed as the Great God Porno in dialogue, the effects crew named him "Nesuahyrrah," a tribute to stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen by spelling his name backwards.[2]
According to the DVD's audio commentary by Ziehm, the film was originally done with scenes of straight and gay hardcore pornography. These were cut out after Ziehm found himself in legal trouble. (Producing pornography was legally viewed as pandering at that time.) The x-rated footage was surrendered to Los Angeles vice police. The "collector's edition" video was labelled "the original, uncensored version", but it is no more explicit than any of the earlier releases.
Vivian Sobchack commented that this film is "a skin flick hilariously molded around the Flash Gordon serials, and fully and lovingly aware of genre conventions from special effects to dialogue".[1] Rotten Tomatoes currently has the film with a 67% 'fresh' rating.[3]
A sequel, Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders, eventually followed in 1989, and a four-issue comic book miniseries by Aircel Comics was published in 1992.[4]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||